Squirrels!

I remember being in the gardens of the Abbey of Saint Mary in the Yorkshire Museum Gardens in York, England, which dated back to about 1088.  These gardens were covered in beautiful, empty shells of old buildings and structures, surrounded by green, lush lawns and trees. People all around me were walking around on the lawns in the sun drippled day, and there was music and talking, including laughter coming from the various groups of people, of all ages spread across the rolling lawns amongst the trees.  It was peaceful and inviting and a great photo opportunity to take in the beauty of these gardens with its building remnants of what had been there before in its earlier days. 

In the earlier days there would have been many other people regularly on the site - more servants, craftsmen and tradesmen, as well as other boys from poorer families who attended classes within the abbey.   But today we were here enjoying it's tranquilty and beauty of days gone past.

While strolling around with Maddie and Chris, through this spacious green haven, I got sidetracked and discovered a squirrel and as I love squirrels, I started taking photos of a particular squirrel. (let me explain--I have lived in Australia for over 30 years--and there aren't any squirrels here--not a gray one or even a red one--so finding a squirrel was to me like finding a strange and wonderful animal!)

Everyone else was photographing the Abbey's beauty and scenery--while I concentrated on this lone squirrel, who was actually posing for me. The next thing I knew, I looked up, and a group had gathered around me and the squirrel.  Suddenly there were about 10-15 people taking photos of my squirrel---I really laughed!!

Curiosity is contagious and best shared!